French oysters are falling prey to a herpes virus, after an oyster crisis team found they have been concentrating too hard on developing sexual organs rather then their natural defenses.
Ifremer, France's main marine research institute established the crisis team on July 3. Researchers are trying to find why 40 to 100 percent of oysters aged 12 to 18 months are dying in all but one of France's breeding areas.
French love to devour the mollusks with lemon and white wine, but they have been mysteriously dying.
On Monday, a spokesperson for Ifremer said the team had established that a virus called Oyster Herpesvirus type 1, or OsHV-1, was killing young oysters. There is no known cure for OsHV-1.
Sporadic high moralities were reported among larval French scallops (Pecten maximus). Electron microscopy of moribund larvae revealed particles with the characteristics of a herpesvirus in association with cellular lesions. PCR and DNA sequencing showed that the virus is a variant of ostreid herpes virus-1 that has already been described in clams and oysters.
This is the first description of a herpes virus infection of a scallop species. The virus was transmitted successfully from an extract of infected scallop larvae to uninfected scallop or oyster (Crassostrea, gigas) larvae, demonstrating that it is able to infect both species. Detection of viral DNA in asymptomatic adult scallops by in situ hybridisation indicates that the herpes virus may have been transmitted from adults to larvae. It is notable that, unlike most herpes viruses, this virus has a wide host range reflected by its ability to infect several species of marine bivalve.
Ifremer, France's main marine research institute established the crisis team on July 3. Researchers are trying to find why 40 to 100 percent of oysters aged 12 to 18 months are dying in all but one of France's breeding areas.
French love to devour the mollusks with lemon and white wine, but they have been mysteriously dying.
On Monday, a spokesperson for Ifremer said the team had established that a virus called Oyster Herpesvirus type 1, or OsHV-1, was killing young oysters. There is no known cure for OsHV-1.
Sporadic high moralities were reported among larval French scallops (Pecten maximus). Electron microscopy of moribund larvae revealed particles with the characteristics of a herpesvirus in association with cellular lesions. PCR and DNA sequencing showed that the virus is a variant of ostreid herpes virus-1 that has already been described in clams and oysters.
This is the first description of a herpes virus infection of a scallop species. The virus was transmitted successfully from an extract of infected scallop larvae to uninfected scallop or oyster (Crassostrea, gigas) larvae, demonstrating that it is able to infect both species. Detection of viral DNA in asymptomatic adult scallops by in situ hybridisation indicates that the herpes virus may have been transmitted from adults to larvae. It is notable that, unlike most herpes viruses, this virus has a wide host range reflected by its ability to infect several species of marine bivalve.
- added August 06, 2008
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